Monday, April 27, 2009

Taliban gunmen have been filmed executing a surprised couple whom they repeatedly shot for the alleged crime of adultery.

Pakistan is getting a close look at the horror of what is before them. It is late in the game but Pakistani paramilitary troops assisted by helicopter gunships attacked Taliban militants in the Malakand Agency on Sunday. They claimed that they killed 30 militants.

Of course, had they been attacked by US forces, 29 of them would have been widows and orphans on the way to a religious shrine.

Their deaths were squalid, riddled with bullets in a field near their home by Taliban gunmen as the execution was captured on a mobile telephone.

In footage which is being watched with horror by Pakistanis, the couple try to flee when they realise what is about to happen. But a gunman casually shoots the man and then the woman in the back with a burst of gunfire, leaving them bleeding in the dirt.

Moments later, when others in the execution party shout out that they are still alive, he returns to coldly finish them with a few more rounds.

Their "crime" was an alleged affair in their remote mountain village controlled by militants in an area that was only recently under the government's sway. It was the kind of barbarity that has become increasingly familiar across Pakistan as the Taliban tide has spread.

But this time, with black-turbaned gunmen almost at the gates of Islamabad, the rare footage has shown urban Pakistanis what could now await them.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, has warned that Islamic extremists could take over the nation.

In the past few days the footage has circulated among Pakistanis who usually show little interest in the rough ways of the distant frontier regions.

They have now started to wake up to the fear that al-Qaeda-linked rebels from the frontier could take over their nation.The killings happened in Hangu district, in North West Frontier Province, about two hours drive from the regional capital Peshawar. The punishment was administered by a local group of the Pakistani Taliban, the Islamic militia which has swept across the NWFP towards the capital Islamabad.

Last week, the Taliban had reached within 60 miles of Islamabad, in Buner district. Their takeover sparked panic in the West, which was already appalled by a peace deal that the government had signed this month with Taliban in adjacent the Swat valley.

In an extraordinary move, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, called on the people of Pakistan to defy their government, saying they "need to speak out forcefully against a policy that is ceding more and more territory to the insurgents".

The Taliban had agreed a withdrawal, in the last couple of days, to their stronghold of Swat. That will scarcely make the government and elite in the capital Islamabad feel much safer, as Swat is only 100 miles from them.

"The Taliban are steady and confident, the government is weak and faltering," said Pervez Hoodbhoy, a professor at Islamabad's Quaid-e-Azam University and one of Pakistan's leading intellectuals.

"A Taliban victory will enslave our women, destroy Pakistan's rich historical and cultural heritage, make education and science impossible, and make the lives of its citizens impossibly difficult. Some are already contemplating an exodus."

Pakistan today stands on a knife-edge, threatened with anarchy. The desperate deal signed with the Taliban in Swat looks set to fall apart. The result will almost certainly be violence. An army convoy heading into Swat on Saturday morning was stopped by the Taliban and forced to turn back, in a naked display of their power.

They seem to have been only emboldened by the peace agreement. Many believe that a bloody military operation now looks inevitable,

For those in areas falling under Taliban control, their harsh rule is terrifying.

An SOS text message sent out on Friday by a terrified local resident, in an area of Swat called Bahrain, says that the Taliban have established total control. Asking not be named for fear of reprisal, he said that they have set up check posts at the entrance to Bahrain, from where they kidnap those they want, including young women.

"They've even warned the local schools to close the girl classes or face dire consequences. Yet the government says its writ is in Swat."

Another Swat resident said: "Every day I see armed Taliban move around freely. At the time of prayer, if they see anyone in his shop or walking about, they whip him with a stick."

The Pakistani Taliban, a copy of the Afghan extremist movement, have long controlled the tribal area along the Afghan border, which is a sanctuary for militants, including al-Qaeda. But it is their march into the heart of the country that has horrified ordinary Pakistanis, and the wider world. And the threat comes not just from the Taliban to the west. Islamic extremists, who are not part of the Taliban, are already entrenched in Islamabad and across the Punjab, the most populous province, seemingly ready to surface when their moment comes.

Islamabad's defences are being hurriedly fortified, with paramilitary troops stationed on the Margalla Hills, which overlook the city from the West. In the capital, there are thousands of followers of the radical Red Mosque, where there are now open calls for Islamic revolution at the weekly Friday prayers.

"The Taliban will not stop at Swat. They will come towards Islamabad," said Hasan Askari Rizvi, a military analyst based in Lahore. "If the army is to take action against them, it is going to be a really bloody battle. And then civil government will be knocked out."

"Extremist groups based in Islamabad will move from within and they (Taliban) will build pressure from outside."The footage Pakistanis have been watching shows them what they could expect.

A local journalist was invited to witness the execution, who filmed it with his mobile phone for a Pakistani channel, Dawn News. The Sunday Telegraph is showing the footage in the West for the first time.There were no names for the two victims.

"Using the media is part of their (the Taliban's) psychological warfare," said Imtiaz Gul, chairman of Centre for Research and Security Studies, an independent think tank in Islamabad. "This way, they inject fear into the minds of people who might oppose them, keeping the majority silent."

After the couple were shot, the family were told to take their bodies away for burial. The punishment was administered by a local group of the Pakistani Taliban linked to warlord Baitullah Mehsud.

An SOS text message sent out on Friday by a terrified local resident, in an area of Swat called Bahrain, says that the Taliban have established total control. Asking not be named for fear of reprisal, he said that they have set up check posts at the entrance to Bahrain, from where they kidnap those they want, including young women.----Practicing what they preach, no doubt.

I showed an apartment today to the nicest Japanese couple with a newborn. Christians too, Catholics. Struggled with the language a bit. Papa--little kid could say that already--pointed to papa--has a job in some science department at the U of I. You know how they are, neat, clean, polite, not a hair out of place on that young mom, thin, trim. It was a delight.

Matched, bob, as in Charlie Wilson's day, dollar for dollar, by the Sauds.

The same players as in September 2001, bob.

Nothing has changed, if anything the situation has become more tenuous and the whirled more insecure.

125,000 US troops in Iraq, they're in the wrong place at the wrong time. Have been since 2004, and that's the best case scenario that could be made for the "Long War" in Iraq. That is if going to Iraq, at all, had a "best case scenario" in the War on Terror.

Not arguing about Charlie Wilson's day, but today, why would the King of Saudi Arabia want to help those whose theology is to overthrow him? He being a heretic and stooge of the west, etc. not pure and so on.

Weakness? Our enemies have taken the measure of Obama and Hillary Clinton. They are not bothering to wait. They know this is Jimmy Carter II in the White House, and they are acting accordingly. Expect push, push, push on all the fronts: South America with Chavez, Noriega and the Castro brothers, now trying to control Brazil; Africa with Zuma, another mad radical now in control of the modern state of South Africa; the Sudan under its genocidal regime, backed by the Arab League and tolerated by the UN; Iran and Syria now within reach of their own nukes and missiles; and Russia, which will play big power games in the Middle East as long as it hurts the West.----And so soon too. Only 100 days. Despair and change.

From bob's am thinker link:Around the world radical Islamists will see the Talibanization of Pakistan, which its glittering jewels of nukes and missiles, as a sign of Allah's favor on their world-wide battle. They will see Tehran's nukes the same way. Europe's major cities are now majority Islamist.We'll see whether the Islamists can press their advantage.

We will also see whether the west, KO'ed by its own greed, is down for the financial count.

If the mantle of Empire is to be passed to China, how will the Dragon react to a waxing Islam?

...don't worry, be happy, the "anti-socialists" have it all under control, the financial troubles have passed and the Wall Streeters will lead us to prosperity, again. Meanwhile the health care plan will roll down the Massachusetts path pouring public money at privately defined prices. All hail America where 'privatize the profit and socialize the cost' is our mantra!!

And while we're on the subject of giddy idiocy, I would advise those who currently find themselves in the warm embrace of the Right (or the Left) to assiduously ignore it, because the moment you stop seeming to serve their purpose as poster child victim of the other side, you will be back on the big wall chart order of battle of Major Evil.

It was 12 days ago that Luis Herrera walked into this city's National Institute for Respiratory Illnesses with a fever of more than 102 degrees, aching bones and breathing problems. Now he is isolated, uncommunicative, bedridden and breathing through a tube. His doctors have not confirmed which strain of flu he has contracted, but his family fears it is the deadly new swine virus that has virtually shut down this city of 20 million people.

"He just kept getting worse and worse and worse," Gabriel Herrera said. "His condition now is really very grave."

The anxiety over the virus has vastly altered the rhythm of Mexico City, with millions of people staying home and many of those who venture out doing so wearing masks. On Sunday, Catholic Masses across the city were canceled. One of the most popular Mexican professional soccer teams played a game in an empty stadium that can seat more than 100,000 people. Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said he might have to shut down all public transportation if the crisis worsens.

The question of who contracts and ultimately dies from this virus has become a matter of central concern in Mexico. And the answers that are beginning to emerge as the death toll rises have been ominous. Relatively young adults, presumably among the population's most healthy, have been the first to succumb. Sunday afternoon, Mexico placed the death toll at 86, and a Health Ministry official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said all the dead were ages 25 to 50. The ministry later raised the toll to 103.

The stronger the immune system, the more likely you'll die of Pig Fever.

The high proportion of young adults among the fatalities is one of several mysteries about this virus. The same pattern emerged during the 1918-1919 Spanish influenza epidemic, which killed at least 50 million people, and it remains unexplained in that case as well.

One theory is that the virus triggers an excessively aggressive immune response that destroys the throat and lung tissue. Young adults, with the most robust immune systems, may be especially at risk.

As for me, I don't want a man/woman/it on a white/black horse. I want some states rights and a national gov't that does its proper job securing the country, and a Congress that goes real slow. That's be enough for any day.

Yeah, I saw that the last time you posted it bobal. The irony of it will be that by the time the supply of docs gets juiced up all the boomers will have already died off but we will be left with a whole cohort of hungry doctors feeding at the public trough.

a whole cohort of hungry doctors feeding at the public trough.They might have to compete for a living, not feed at the public trough.

The theory would suggest that the supply should rise to meet the demand.Two things, it's been something of a guild. And, creating a medical school is a big proposition, money and knowledge intensive, can't be done overnight. It's one of the areas I think fed money might be put to good use, creating the staff and professors, the profession has to do that, but would I think, with some incentives. We are ripe for a medical school here at this time thou pribbling clapper-clawed devil-mon! Thou wouldst eat thy dead vomit up, and howl'st to find it.

I'm a specialist doctor in respiratory diseases and intensive care at the Mexican National Institute of Health. There is a severe emergency over the swine flu here. More and more patients are being admitted to the intensive care unit. Despite the heroic efforts of all staff (doctors, nurses, specialists, etc) patients continue to inevitably die. The truth is that anti-viral treatments and vaccines are not expected to have any effect, even at high doses. It is a great fear among the staff. The infection risk is very high among the doctors and health staff.

There is a sense of chaos in the other hospitals and we do not know what to do. Staff are starting to leave and many are opting to retire or apply for holidays. The truth is that mortality is even higher than what is being reported by the authorities, at least in the hospital where I work it. It is killing three to four patients daily, and it has been going on for more than three weeks. It is a shame and there is great fear here. Increasingly younger patients aged 20 to 30 years are dying before our helpless eyes and there is great sadness among health professionals here.Antonio Chavez, Mexico City

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I think there is a real lack of information and sadly, preventative action. In the capital of my state, Oaxaca, there is a hospital closed because of a death related to the porcine influenza. In the papers they recognise only two people dead for that cause. Many friends working in hospitals or related fields say that the situation is really bad, they are talking about 19 people dead in Oaxaca, including a doctor and a nurse. They say they got shots but they were told not to talk about the real situation. Our authorities say nothing. Life goes on as usual here.

Young people are going to schools and universities. Buses and planes go and come from Mexico City as frequently as before. Even with two people dead locally, last night the local baseball stadium was full, mainly with young people. What's really happening? I know vaccines are good for nothing, and if you take care, maybe you won't die, so, why not acknowledge the real situation? I know that the economic situation is not the best, and it will worsen with panic. But panic comes from a lack of information. Many people travel for pleasure or without any real need. Stopping those unjustified trips can help a lot to ease the situation. We must do something!Alvaro Ricardez, Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, Mexico

Pig Fever is beyond containment, in the Americas, though the South Koreans are trying to limit their risk, screening incoming passengers.

Wonder what the incubation period is?

Information and misinformation.

Trust in Janet, bob, she used to be a Federal prosecutor, that more than alleviates any doubt as to her veracity, just by the respect due to her professional cohort.Like the fellows that did Mr Stevens, of Alaska and Washington DC.

Men of the Bush Justice Department.

You asked why would the Obama Justice Department support limiting defendent rights.

Why would the Bush Justice Dept withhold evidence that would have exonerated Mr Stevens?

Perhaps it is because justice is blind. Doubt it though.

More likely institutional inertia, beyond the power of any individual to contain.

That's the freight train a comin', headed right at Dick Cheney.

He's already arguing in mitigation. I think he is well behind the political curve, but obviously he does not see any other way forward, but admit to guilt and say it was worth it.

Marching to the rhythm of his own drummer. Trouble for him, less than about 26% of US even hear the beat, let alone would be willing to march to it.

In a statement, the Defence Ministry said the forces would continue with the humanitarian operations to rescue the people held hostage by the LTTE while avoiding the use of heavy calibre weaponry as a strictmeasure coinciding with its “zero civilian casualty policy.”

It said a section of the media misinterpreted the government declaration as “cessation of hostilities” and a “ceasefire.” “This is crude and an unethical way of media “reportage’ and a blatant twist of the original statement, perpetrated to motivate the hell-bent terrorist sympathisers-cum-political clouts.”

The logic behind the government decision was to avoid any form of collateral-damage while surging into the remaining 10 sq. km swathe of coast south of Valayarmadam and Vellamullivaikkal.End of Heavy Weapons

Bayview, Idaho--Lake Pend d Orielle. Those little float houses/condos are nifty, stacked up and around as they are. There are more than shown. What I don't understand, having walked down and looked at them, is how they withstand the ice freezing and thawing on the lake each year. Must put quite a strain on things.

You can kill them with this because no one can possibly obey all of their own rules.

(This is a serious rule. The besieged entity's very credibility and reputation is at stake, because if activists catch it lying or not living up to its commitments, they can continue to chip away at the damage.)

It keeps the Republicans way, way, behind the political curve, with Mr Cheney as their current public face, he and Newt.

Internationally, well who really cares about what the foreigners think, anyway?

The current debate in the U.S. on the "special interrogation methods" sanctioned by the Bush administration could soon reach Europe. It has long been clear that the CIA used the Szymany military airbase in Poland for extraordinary renditions.

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It was apparently here, just under an hour's drive from Szymany airport, that Sheikh Mohammed was tortured, exactly 183 times with waterboarding - an interrogation technique that simulates the sensation of drowning - in March, 2003 alone. That averages out to eight times a day.

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Sheikh Mohammed said that they cut the clothes from his body, photographed him naked and threw him in a three-by-four-meter (10 x 13 feet) cell with wooden walls. That was when the hardest phase of the interrogating began, he claims.Prison in Poland

We tried running the maverick reformer, the argument goes, and look what it got us. What Americans want is real conservatism, not some crypto-liberal imitation.

...

Here Dick Cheney, prodded by the ironies of history into demanding greater disclosure about programs he once sought to keep completely secret, has an important role to play. He wants to defend his record; let him defend it.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has fended off unions at its U.S. stores throughout its climb to the top of the retailing world, is now the focus of a major organizing effort by the United Food and Commercial Workers.

...

Cynthia Murray of Laurel , Md. , a nine-year employee in the apparel fitting room of a Wal-Mart store, said workers need representation to negotiate for better working conditions.

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Mark Moore, a 51-year-old overnight stocker for Wal-Mart in Dallas , said he’d welcome Food and Commercial Workers representation. He was a member of the union when he worked at Disney World in Orlando , Fla.Wal-mart and the Unions

The CDC says people cannot get the flu by eating pork or pork products.

Germany's leading vacation tour operators were skipping stops in Mexico City as a precaution. The Hannover-based TUI said trips through May 4 to Mexico City were being suspended, including those operated by TUI itself and also through companies 1-2 Fly, Airtours, Berge & Meer, Grebeco and L'tur.

Japan's largest tour agency, JTB Corp., suspended tours to Mexico through June 30. Russian travel agencies said about a third of those planning to travel to Mexico in early May had already canceled.Swine Flu

John Holmes, the UN humanitarian chief, also visited camps in Vavuniya and met President Rajapaksa as he wrapped up a three-day visit to Sri Lanka.

Mr Holmes pledged $10 million in aid, but the President turned down his appeals for a ceasefire and access to civilians outside the camps. “I am disappointed about this,” Mr Holmes said.

Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary-General, had made a personal appeal for a humanitarian team to enter the no-fire zone but the Government has said repeatedly that it would be too dangerous and might allow the Tigers to regroup and rearm.Concentration Camps

Alinsky's rule three:RULE 3: "Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy." Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty. (This happens all the time. Watch how many organizations under attack are blind-sided by seemingly irrelevant arguments that they are then forced to address.)(The irrelevant torture brouhaha.)

Human rights defenders from 45 African countries, together with partners from across the world, met at the All-Africa Human Rights Defenders’ Conference in Kampala, Uganda, last week (20-23 April), organized by the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network. In a final statement, they acknowledged the achievements made since the first such conference was held in Johannesburg more than a decade ago.

Advances included the appointment of a United Nations as well as African Union Special Rapporteur on HRDs, the adoption of a UN declaration on HRDs, the establishment of regional HRD networks in Africa and an increasing awareness of their work across the continent.

However, the Kampala meeting also condemned the sizeable number of human rights defenders who have been killed in their efforts to promote and protect universal rights over the past ten years. The conference declaration also stressed deep concern over the continued violation of the rights of defenders in the various sub-regions of Africa, where they are routinely subjected to harassment, stigmatisation, arbitrary arrest, unfair trials, torture and even killings.Concerns Remain Deep

Outbreaks of swine flu in humans have been confirmed in Mexico, the United States, Canada, Britain and Spain, while suspected cases have been reported in other countries including New Zealand, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Peru.

The death toll being attributed to swine flu, including suspected cases, rose to 149 in Mexico. Many of the dead were in their 20s to 40s.

The number of infections in the United States rose to 42 and six cases have been reported in Canada, according to the WHO. Two cases of infection have been confirmed in Britain and one case in Spain.Alert Level to 4+

Magnificent Ronald and the Founding Fathers of al Qaeda

“These gentlemen are the moral equivalents of America’s founding fathers.” — Ronald Reagan while introducing the Mujahideen leaders to media on the White house lawns (1985). During Reagan’s 8 years in power, the CIA secretly sent billions of dollars of military aid to the mujahedeen in Afghanistan in a US-supported jihad against the Soviet Union. We repeated the insanity with ISIS against Syria.